Swallow Your Pride
by LoZfan86
Summary: Levi is plagued with a tummy ache, and Hanji is given the task of comforting him. What will happen when the two of them are alone? LeviHan fluff :) Rated M for Levi's craphole of a mouth, just to be safe.


**A/N: Ah, nothing quite like writing a one-shot to help relieve some stress. Yeah, college has been that bad lol. So I recently started watching Attack on Titan (I marathoned the whole thing over a weekend actually). Needless to say, it instantly became one of my favorite animes. I ship Levi/Hanji so hard haha. So yeah, this one-shot is about the two of them. When I was thinking this up, I was trying to figure out how I could make Levi completely defenseless toward Hanji, and giving him a stomach ache was the first thing that came to mind lol. It's a cute idea, and plus I just can't imagine Levi like that, which makes it funny also. :P So sit back, relax, and enjoy the read, guys! Remember to favorite and review if you are inclined to do so! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). All characters belong to Hajime Isayama.**

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><p>It was a quiet evening in the Scout Regiment's Headquarters. The troops had just finished their evening meal, and now they were all headed back to their dorms. All but one, anyway. Squad Leader Zoe Hanji was on her way to the lab. Earlier that day she had gathered some pretty groundbreaking information from Sawney and Bean, the regiment's two captured titans, and she was over-eager to study it, even if it meant staying up till the wee hours of the morning. On her way there, though, she ran into a good friend of hers who was also a fellow squad leader, Mike Zacharius. He was standing outside a door in the dimly lit hallway, his nose high in the air. Judging from his perplexed facial expression, he was sniffing something that was oddly peculiar. Hanji had always wanted to run tests on him to figure out why he could smell things that a normal person would overlook, but Commander Erwin always told her no. They didn't have time to run tests on fellow members of the corps.<p>

As Hanji approached Mike, he turned his head and acknowledged her with a curt nod. He then directed his attention back to the door, continuing to sniff the air. It was only when Hanji inquired what he was doing that he looked back at her.

"This is Captain Levi's room, is it not?" he asked, though it wasn't really much of a question.

Hanji nodded. "Yeah. At least, I'm pretty sure it is," she replied as she scratched the back of her head. The bespectacled squad leader was sorely confused as to what exactly Mike was sniffing outside Levi's room.

He made a bit of a face then, clearly displeased about something. "Hmm, he smells ill."

Hanji's confused expression distorted even more. "Wait, what? How on earth can you tell?"

Mike turned to her and simply shrugged his shoulders. "My nose does not lie. It definitely smells like someone has taken ill in there." Hanji decided not to question it any further. Mike's highly defined sense of smell would continue to be a mystery to everyone who knew him. Still though, she had a hard time believing that Captain Levi, of all people, had gotten sick. Not only was he dubbed "Humanity's Strongest," but he was also the cleanest and most hygienic person she had ever known. Viruses and bacteria alike cowered in the face of Levi.

"Look, Mike," Hanji began. "I understand that Levi is human like the rest of us, and all humans get sick from time to time, but honestly, what makes you think he'd get sick now? There isn't anything that's going around as far as I know. And I'm usually the first one to know if there's a disease spreading." Suddenly, a loud and uncomfortable groaning sound reverberated from inside the room. Levi was obviously in a lot of pain. Mike turned to Hanji and gave her an "I told you so" look.

"I'd say that confirms my suspicions about him being sick," the tall, blond squad leader stated matter-of-factly. Hanji just scoffed at him.

"Well, what are we going to do then?" she asked. If Levi was indeed ill, then he should be examined by someone. The first choice was obviously Hanji herself, but she was trying to skirt around that. It was a known fact that Levi didn't particularly take kindly to Hanji.

Mike could read her like a book though, and saw right through her plan. "Why don't you have a look at him?" he suggested, a small smirk playing on his lips. "You are the most qualified, after all."

Hanji gave a nervous laugh, trying not to sound as scared as she actually was. "Oh no, I couldn't possibly do that. I've never actually practiced on a human before. We should probably call for a real doctor-"

"Hanji," Mike suddenly grasped the scientist's arm, pulling her towards him a bit. The smirk that had been on his face just moments ago was gone, replaced with a much more serious expression. "We have no idea what his current condition is. He could be in a lot of serious pain, and in that case, the poor man's suffering right now." The corners of Hanji's mouth drooped a bit at Mike's words. She had never, ever seen the corporal in pain before. Hardly anyone had. "Please, just take care of him for now."

"But he'll dropkick me off Wall Rose if I so much as touch him!" Hanji protested.

Hanji's ludicrous comment made Mike chuckle a bit. "I highly doubt he has the energy to do that at the moment." He turned on his heel and began to walk away.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Hanji called after him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To bed," Mike's voice drifted back to her. "I'm tired."

Hanji was fuming now. "Well hang on, Mike! Maybe I'm tired, too?" Mike stopped and glanced back at her.

"Don't even try that, Hanji. I know you were on your way to the lab to study your precious titans." Hanji looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Now go. Tend to Levi." And with that, Mike turned the corner and disappeared.

"Ugh," Hanji groaned inwardly. "Why do I always get stuck doing crap like this?" She looked at the intimidating door in front of her. Just beyond it, she could hear the captain moaning and groaning, muttering curse after curse. He really did not sound good at all. She took a moment to say a little prayer, then bravely turned the knob on the door. Opening it ever so slowly revealed Levi's bedroom, immaculate and free of dirt, as always. A healthy stack of paperwork laid atop his desk. When she had it opened all the way, Levi's bed came into view, and so did a disheveled pile of blankets on top of it. The mounds of fabric moved ever so slightly at the sound of the door opening, and Hanji was able to deduce that Levi was hiding somewhere underneath them. Upon her entering the room, the blankets shifted even more.

"Who's there?" Levi grumbled, his voice muffled by the thickness of the blankets. Hanji stiffened slightly at his words and readjusted her glasses.

"It's Hanji, Captain," she replied, knowing that he would get really angry if she took too long to answer. "Mike could sense that you weren't feeling well, so he told me to check up on you." There was a bit of an awkward silence before Levi said anything.

"That freak Mike," he uttered, almost so quietly that Hanji couldn't hear him. "I'm feeling fine. Just go away." The blankets shifted once more, and Levi let out another quiet moan.

Hanji decided now that it was best to go against her better judgment and help Levi. He could deny it all he wanted; it was obvious to her that he wasn't "fine." Without asking first, she walked up to the side of the bed and tore the blankets away, revealing the somewhat sad-looking form of Captain Levi. He was lying on his stomach with his head facing Hanji. Upon losing the cover of his blankets, he gave her a venomous glare, one that could surely kill plants, and perhaps small species of animals.

"What the fuck, shitty glasses?!" he all but yelled at her, but she wasn't going to let that bother her. "The hell is wrong with you?"

"What I'd like to know is what's wrong with _you_!" Hanji retorted with just as much vehemence. She sat down on the edge of the bed, patiently waiting for his answer.

By now it was evident to Levi that Hanji was not going away until she obtained the information she wanted. But he still wanted to throw her off course as much as possible. "It's nothing to worry about, I can tell you that much."

Hanji shook her head softly. "But both Mike and I heard your discomfort from the hall." Levi buried his face in the pillow, hiding it from her. "You're in terrible pain right now, aren't you?" It wasn't a question, rather an assumption. She was right, of course, but Levi would never admit that.

"I'm not in pain," Levi answered. "Pain shows weakness, and I'm definitely not weak." His words hurt Hanji a bit. Was he really so afraid of expressing his feelings to her?

"You're wrong, Levi," she said softly. "Pain is merely a testament to how strong you are. You can't have strength without weakness." She hoped her words had reached him on some level. "Now, how about you roll on over so I can give you a quick and painless examination?"

Levi removed his face from the pillow to glare at her once more, but he complied with her wishes, nonetheless. "Fine, but I'm telling you, I'm not sick."

Hanji smiled sadly. "We'll just have to see about that." Levi groaned again as he rotated his body. Upon lying down on his back, his arms immediately wrapped around his midsection. Hanji didn't fail to notice this, and gave him a questioning look. "Is that where your pain is stemming from?" she asked, looking down at his abdomen. "Are you having a stomach ache?" Levi couldn't help covering it up. The pain was dulled ever so slightly when he applied a little pressure on his stomach. The only thing was now Hanji knew, and it would be difficult to get himself out of this one. "Levi, let me see-"

"Absolutely not!" Levi shouted, tightening his arms around his stomach. His expression turned somber then. "And anyway, you'd probably laugh."

Hanji looked very hurt by this. "Levi, why would I laugh at your pain? I'm not as crazy as you think I am, you know." Hanji slowly moved her arm in and took hold of one of Levi's, trying to pry it off his stomach.

"Fuck you, woman!" Levi growled. "Don't touch me!" He moved his other arm up to wrestle with hers, and it was all out war.

"Levi, would you stop?" Hanji raised her voice in irritation. "I'm only trying to help you, and you're kind of being a dick about it!" She was now using both hands to try and pull his arm away.

"I never said I wanted your help, shitty glasses!" Levi refuted, tiny beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. He really was in no condition to be using this much force, but he cared little for logic at the moment. He was more focused on guarding himself from Hanji.

"God dammit, Levi!" Hanji was full on screaming now. "Why can't you just let someone in for once?!"

Levi's eyes widened at her words and he inhaled a sharp breath. What she said had struck a deep chord in him. Once again, she was right. It seemed like she was right about everything lately. Ever so slowly, he released his grip on her arm, and his own arm fell on top of his abdomen next to the one Hanji was still holding onto. "Fine," he said simply. "Just, promise me you won't laugh.

Hanji smiled gently, thankful that he wasn't putting up a fight anymore. "I promise, Levi. I won't." She carefully removed the arm she still had a grip on, and then the other one. Levi had essentially made them limp now that he wasn't struggling against her. Once his stomach was exposed to her, she couldn't help but gasp a little. Levi's abdomen was protruding slightly from underneath his shirt. The buttons were straining a bit the farther down you went, revealing the sensitive, milky skin of his stomach, and it looked like the very bottom one just above his belt was about to pop. Levi himself was looking down at the bulge in complete and utter disgust, clearly wondering why he had let this happen in the first place. Hanji seemed to be wondering that, too, because the next question out of her mouth was, "Levi, how exactly did this happen? I mean, you didn't look like this earlier today." Levi didn't answer. Instead, he looked away, his face turning a light shade of pink. It was clear to Hanji that he was very embarrassed by this, so she tried not to act like she was poking fun at him. Still though, he was absolutely and utterly bloated. She was incredibly curious as to how he got that way. "I really don't think you'd just let yourself go all of a sudden," she said. "And given the timeframe, it's impossible for all this be accumulated fat." When she said the word "this" she gestured towards his inflated stomach. "What happened?"

Levi let out a deep and painful sigh, moving one of his hands to rest on his belly once more. "Erwin happened," he answered simply.

Hanji wasn't quite sure how to process this. "Sorry, but could you elaborate on that a bit more?"

Levi gave her an irritated look, but explained the situation to her. "Erwin was teasing me at dinner tonight. He said that since he's bigger than me, he can obviously eat more than I can." Levi paused and winced slightly, putting more pressure on his swollen abdomen. "So we settled the matter the only way men do: by a contest." Levi laughed through his nose a bit. "And I won."

Hanji wanted to scold Levi for being so ignorant. Shoving that much food into one's stomach is never a good thing. "But what was the point in doing that, Levi?" she asked, trying to keep her cool. What he did was just plain stupid. Of course, he probably understood that now. "You caused yourself so much pain, and it's going to take a while for that to go down, you know." She pointed at his belly. "I'd say at least three days."

"You might as well say it, Hanji," Levi brought his other hand up to his forehead. "I'm an idiot. This was such a dumb thing for me to do. I didn't think about what would happen afterwards." He clenched his teeth in anger then. "I just really wanted to show Erwin up for once. He's always looking down on me-don't you dare laugh at that-and I just really wanted to best him." Levi's hand flopped back down to his side. He glanced at his overstuffed belly again, wanting more than anything in the world to just die and be spared from the embarrassment. "Damn, this hurts like a bitch. I feel like I'm going to explode."

Hanji allowed herself to smile a little. "Strictly speaking, Levi, you're a small man, so it would only make sense that you'd have a small tummy, as well."

At this point, Levi had lost all the energy needed to glare at her. Instead, he just looked at her, a pained expression on his face. "You think I'm pathetic, don't you? Lying here, looking like this. It's not at all attractive."

Hanji frowned and scooted closer to him on the bed, trying not to shift the weight so much that she upset his full belly even more. "No Levi, don't say that," she cooed. "You're not pathetic. We all make mistakes sometimes. If we didn't, we'd never learn." She smiled when Levi let out a breath he'd been holding and closed his eyes. "More importantly, you need to learn how to swallow your pride, Levi." Hanji let out a small laugh then, despite her promise not to. "And maybe not so much food."

Levi smirked despite himself. "Yeah, I'm sure as hell never doing this again," he scoffed, making him wince and reposition his hand once again. "Ow, fuck. This really hurts."

Hanji knew what might help with his pain, but the remedy was embarrassing, for lack of better words. It never failed to work, though. "Levi," she said, looking directly into his eyes.

"Yeah?"

"I know of a kind of treatment for this particular situation." Levi looked at her expectantly. "It's a bit odd and it might make you feel uncomfortable at first, but I can assure you that it really does work."

Levi nodded his head. "Alright, I give you permission to try it, then."

Hanji's face lit up. "Great. Well first things first, I'll need you to open your shirt. It has to be done on bare skin." Levi's eyes widened and he threatened to cover his stomach again, but Hanji's pleading expression convinced him not to. He reached down and slowly began to undo his belt, feeling his stomach expand slightly as he did so, finally free of the tight restraint. He then set to work on unbuttoning his pants, pulling his shirt out from underneath when he was finished. One by one, he undid the buttons of his shirt, though the bottom one came loose as soon as he had taken the belt off. Hanji began to rub her hands together quickly then, earning her a strange look from Levi. "Don't worry, it's all part of the process," she assured, and Levi took her word for it. Hanji rubbed her hands together for about a minute. "There, nice and toasty. Okay Levi, I'm going to put my hands on you now," she warned. Levi nodded, preparing himself for whatever she was going to do. As soon as the warm palm of her hand touched Levi's stomach, she flinched a little, surprised with just how firm it was. There was no give to it at all, clearly a sign that there was absolutely no empty space left in the overfull organ. Honestly, Hanji was quite impressed by the fact that he hadn't popped yet. She set this thought aside however, and slowly began rubbing Levi's belly. She made small, circular motions around his belly button, increasing them in size over time. All the while she explained to Levi that since food moves through the intestines in a clockwise motion, she was in turn rubbing in a clockwise motion to help aid his stomach with digestion. Levi just listened with his eyes closed while she talked, relishing the comfort she was giving him. It hurt a bit when Hanji had first started rubbing, but after a while, it felt like absolute heaven. Levi never wanted the feeling to go away; he even let out a few pleasant moans to inform Hanji that what she was doing was working. Hanji rubbed for several minutes until both she and Levi finally heard his stomach make several gurgling noises, signaling the start of digestion.

"It doesn't hurt as much anymore," Levi said, and Hanji slowly pulled her hand away. "Thanks, Zoe."

Hanji's eyes widened and she gasped. "Levi," she breathed, looking down at the floor.

"What's wrong?" Levi questioned, wondering if he'd said something to offend her.

"You called me by my first name," she said softly, eyes still turned down.

Levi looked away from her, feeling slightly ashamed. "I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

"No!" Hanji grabbed his hand then, pulling it close to her chest. She was smiling genuinely. "I want you to call me Zoe more often." Without even realizing it, she began to stroke the back of his hand. "It's nice hearing you say my real name, rather than 'shitty glasses' or whatever other nickname you dub me with."

Levi allowed himself to chuckle a bit. "Well, what can I say? You have a beautiful name, Zoe. It wouldn't kill me to say it more often." Their eyes met, then, and the pair immediately felt heat rise to their cheeks.

"You know," Hanji began, "there's something else I can do for you to help ease the pain. Something my mother always did for me."

Levi's expression grew curious again. "Tell me."

Hanji blushed even more fiercely. "Well, she had a theory that if she kissed the spot where it hurt, the pain would go away."

Levi knew where she was going with this, but for the sake of hearing her talk, he pressed farther. "And did it work?"

Hanji's smile became shy. "You'll have to tell me." And with that, she leaned in and pressed her lips to Levi's tummy, holding them there for several seconds. When she at last pulled away, she noticed that Levi had a rather redundant look on his face.

"Idiot," he muttered. "You missed completely." Before Hanji could ask what he meant, he reached out and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I have to say, your aim is terrible." And once again cutting Hanji off, he pressed his lips to hers in a sweet, chaste kiss. After several seconds, they parted, their breathing sporadic.

"Levi, do you mind if I stay with you for the night?" Hanji asked, unable to fight back the blush that was spreading all across her face.

Levi smiled at her, and seeing his smile nearly made Hanji melt. "Not at all. I might need you if my stomach decides to act up again." Hanji let out a relieved sigh and nestled her head in the crook of his neck. Levi, in turn, wrapped his arm protectively around her. She was his now, and he would do everything in his power to prevent harm from coming her way. They were just about to fall asleep, when someone else made their presence known.

"I told you it would be best if you were the one to check up on him," the tall squad leader smirked, his hand resting nonchalantly against the doorframe.

"Mike!"

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><p><strong>AN: Dammit, Mike! Way to ruin the moment! Thanks for reading, guys! I really hope you enjoyed it and that it brought a smile to your face! Hopefully I'll do more stuff with Attack on Titan in the future! Alright, goodnight everybody! :)  
><strong>


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